Making Funeral Arrangements

What to do when someone dies

All deaths are required by law to be registered in the district where death occurs, as soon as possible.  You will need to telephone the Registrar to make an appointment to see them.  This helps you to avoid unnecessary delays and ensures that you attend the correct Registrars Office.

The doctor will issue you with a Medical Certificate, via the surgery or the hospital, if the cause of death is straightforward.  If the Coroner has been involved you will be given a pink form instead, via the local Coroner's Officer.  The Medical Certificate, together with the deceased’s Medical Card, social security payment book and/or any other benefit books should then be taken to the Registrar, by one of the following :

• A relative of the deceased, either present at death, or in attendance during the last illness.
• A person present at death.
• The occupier of the house, or inmate of the house, if they knew of the occurrence of death.
• The person arranging the funeral service.
• By deposition - if death occurred in a different district, it is possible to send the above-mentioned documents by post to the Registrar of that district.  However the time involved in this and waiting for the return of the necessary paperwork also by post could mean a delay before arrangements for the funeral can take place.

The Registrar will then ask the following questions :

• full name of the deceased,
• home address of the deceased,
• marital status of the deceased,
• date and place of death,
• last occupation of the deceased,
• maiden name (if applicable) of the deceased. It is not necessary to take the deceased’s birth certificate, although if it is readily available it will provide the Registrar with many basic details.  You could be asked for the deceased’s Medical Card, but don’t worry if you cannot find it.

The Registrar will give you:-

• The certificate for burial or cremation - the Green Form.
  This is not a Death Certificate and should be handed to your Funeral Director as soon as possible. (If the Coroner has been involved, you may be given an Order for Burial Form 101, or a Certificate for Cremation Form E.)  In some cases these forms may be sent directly to the Funeral Director.
• A copy of the Entry of Register of Deaths – this is often referred to as the Death Certificate.
  It is a certified copy of the entry of death, for banks and building societies, etc., and copies can be obtained for a small fee.  We suggest you get at least 3 copies. Photocopies are usually accepted for retention, but officials usually need to see the original.  The funeral director does not need a copy but we would be happy to photocopy this certificate for you.
• DWP FORM SF200
  This is only issued for one purpose; to notify the DWP that the death has occurred and should be submitted to the DWP with any relevant papers, i.e. pensions books or state benefit claim books.  In the reverse of the form are a few simple questions to be filled in and then you should take the form to the local branch of the DWP.  In the Aylesbury area this is Sunley House, Oxford Road, Aylesbury. You can order a Bereavement Benefits pack by phone from your local Jobcente Plus or download the BB1 claim pack via the website www.direct.gov.uk

Arranging the Funeral

 Once you have received the Certificate for Burial or Cremation, from the Registrar, you can meet the Funeral Director to make all the arrangements for the Funeral Service.

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